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Herringbone Stitch
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Crystals

Like a lot of bead-weavers I know, I got started making jewelry by learning how to string beads. Once I started learning how to do off-loom bead-weaving, though, I started looking for creative ways to combine my bead stitching with my bead stringing skills. Fifteen years later, I still love finding new...

For most of us, our introduction to beaded ropes came by way of making tubular versions of our favorite off-loom bead-weaving stitches, or by creating a classic spiral rope. There's something incredible about watching a few rounds of bead stitching turn into a fabulous beaded rope. Beaded ropes have...

So many bead-weaving stitches, so little time! Just when I think I've found my favorite bead-weaving stitch or technique, another one grabs my attention with a new twist or a variation. But time and time again, I find myself coming back to these three basic off-loom bead-weaving stitches for most...

A few weeks ago, my husband and my 6 year old son went off on an "adventure" while I was attending a training workshop, and when I arrived home, my son presented me with a few beautiful agate slices that he had chosen for me from a museum gift shop. I was so touched by the beautiful gift, and...

Herringbone stitch might have been one of the last bead-weaving stitches I learned how to do, but these days, it's always my first choice for making beaded bezels and beaded ropes! This quick, versatile beading stitch can be used to create both flat and dimensional beadwork, and I love the strength...

Do you love herringbone stitch as much as I do? Really, there's so much you can do with it -- whether you want to make a beaded bezel for a crystal bead, a beautiful twisted herringbone rope, or a piece of beaded jewelry with a distinctly African ethnic feel, herringbone stitch is my go-to bead-weaving...

I love a good challenge, don't you? How about the challenge of using a cabochon, without a hole, in a piece of beaded jewelry? When I was learning how to bead, I was thrilled to find out that I didn't need to know metal smithing techniques to include my favorite gemstone cabochons in my beaded...

Oh, yes, even though I always seem to have a hard time coming up with designs for beaded earrings, I love to stitch up earring making projects from other talented beading designers! I really can't get enough of them -- earring making projects are great for last-minute gifts, or when I just need a...

Warning: Long Story Alert. Last winter, my husband and I took a parenting class with our son's preschool teacher. One evening during class, I started noticing the patterns on the beautiful purple shirt worn by the teacher, and of course, my beady brain got to thinking about how I could re-create...

In case I haven't mentioned it lately, I'm addicted to cabochons . If you take a look through my bead stash, you'll find drawers and drawers full of them -- gemstone cabochons, handmade ceramic and porcelain cabochons, even vintage Lucite cabochons and cabochons made from things like resin...

If I had to choose one thing that I love about creating my own beaded jewelry designs, it would be the unlimited possibilities that are presented to me every time I sit down with my sketchbook and my beads. Really, I can't think of another jewelry-making medium that allows for such expression of...

When it comes to versatility in bead-weaving stitches , you can't beat herringbone stitch. I can't think of another beading stitch that offers so much variation! The thread path of herringbone stitch (also called Ndebele stitch because of its origins in the beadwork of the South African Ndebele...

Triangulations by Kathie Khaladkar Crystal beads are everywhere these days! When I was at the Tucson bead shows earlier this year, you couldn't turn around without seeing some glitz and glam, and walls and walls of sparkling crystal beads. Truthfully, I was not a huge fan of crystal beads when I...

Necklace making is something that has always come easy for me. Even now, I find that my sketchbooks are full of more necklace designs than anything else, and I'm always finding inspiration for new designs everywhere. My process for designing and making a beaded necklace depends on where I get my...